Energy drinks

[Weiser]

You might ask why this topic is in this forum. Well on another board a thread was brought up about energy drinks and Redline was brought up. It looked interesting and I couldn't believe the reviews about it. I said I would drink one and post my findings there. I couldn't describe it fully as drug talk is not allowed there (and rightly so).

So I post here. If you are looking for a quick burst of energy, drink any energy drink other than Redline (not redbull). I'm 6'2" 192lbs and in good shape, most of the time, one energy drink will not do anything to me.

I went out last night after working days and getting up at 5am. Needless to say I was dead tired and bought a Redline. I slammed it in about 20 seconds and went into the bar. My god it felt like I did more coke than I could handle. Just a really, nasty feeling for quite a while. Sort of light headed, sweating, felt a little nauseaus (didn't throw up), found myself taking slow deep breaths and standing outside for fresh air for a while. After the inital effects wore off in about an hour, I was wired. I had this strange body buzz going on, I was talking a mile a minute...I really felt like I was back in banff when I would do a gram or so before I went out. I had the shakes and my heart was racing. I have no doubt that drinking a 4 pack of this stuff would kill me.

In conclusion, stay away from this stuff

[Merika]

Rockstar is the only one which doesn't taste like moose piss. I know Pepsi is coming out with their own version. It will be called 'Diesel'. It might taste ok too.

I would imagine it's much like the cheap kinda speed you can buy at convenient strores. It's alright for a quick boost now and then....but there is a downside of feeling weirded out if you take them a couple of days in a row. Apparently they've passed some FDA standard....but I doubt they are real healthy for a person. They can also put you in a REALLY crappy mood as they wear off.

[Weiser]

I've never crashed from them, and none have ever made me feel weird. I was an avid energy drink coniseur down in Arizona when I was working 10-12 hour days in the heat, starting at 4am. I needed them to function after a while.

I have never had a bad tasting one, though I tend to chug them once I open them.

Full Throtle by Coke is really good.

[Star]

what worries me aobut this stuff is kids taking it. if it did that to a guy like weiser, what would it do to a kid? I can't believe they sell this in the stores for anyone to buy.

there must be some kind of drug in that drink to make you feel that way. I've never had one of those, they never appealed to me but i did taste an energy drink that my brother bought and it was gross. probably why i don't go anywhere near them.

[Weiser]

I don't think it can be good for kids. I mean alot of the ingredients are actually good for you, but the dose of caffeine in them - it can't be good at all.

[Star]

well, i know that i don't allow kassandra to drink any of those energy drinks and i didn't even know how harmful they were. i just thought why would a kid need an energy drink?

a mother's instinct is such a wonderful thing.

[Weiser]

Redline is the only energy drink like that, that's why I wanted to test it out, see if the reviews were right. And they pretty much are.

All the other ones are good. I mean they even make sugar free energy drinks. I've never tried them, but I hear they are good too.

Yesterday morning I only had a couple hours of sleep and got up at 5am for work. I was dead tired, I didn't have any french vanilla cream left for my coffee so I didn't have any. I went to mcdonalds and got a sausage egg mcmuffin and then picked up a redbull and a sobe arush energy drink. Drank them both and I was good to go the entire day. Breakfast of champions I say!

[Star]

if they tasted better, i might try one but hey don't. they're gross!

[Weiser]

Try Sobe Arush. It's not really expensive compared to Redbull. It just takes like a carbonated citrus drink. By far the best tasting out there.

Edit - they make a sugar free version too.

[Merika]

Probably about the same thing as drinking a couple of expresso's or something. I doubt anything that gives you an artificial boost of too much energy is good for you. I wonder what the long term heart probs will be from all that?

[Weiser]

I'm not too worried about it - Here is the ingredients to energy drinks and what they mean.

Caffeine: The most common stimulant, found in coffee, Coke and Mountain Dew. Found in much higher quantities in energy drinks. Most energy drinks contain between 70 and 200 mg. A 5 oz cup of coffee contains 110-150mg for drip, 65-125mg for percolated, and 40-80 mg for instant. Dr. Pepper gives you 61mg, and a can of Coke provides 50mg. A full can of RockStar has 150mg. A lot of people experience side effects above 200mg, but I’ve personally known people that can handle a full gram at a time. They looked like an ADD monkey having a seizure, but they didn’t die. I don’t recommend it.

Taurine: Taurine is an amino acid that your body naturally produces. It helps regulate heartbeat and muscle contractions, and energy levels. Usually your body makes enough that you don’t need to supplement. It’s thought, but not proven, that under “stress conditions” like illness, physical exertion, or injury, the body does not create enough and supplements can help. Taurine might be a “mild inhibitory neurotransmitter”, some studies show it helps with exciteable brain states. While this isn’t exactly what we want, maybe it helps level us out so we function better with elevated levels of other stimulants.

Guarana: Guarana comes from plants in South America. Amazonians have used it for a long time to increase alertness and energy. It’s more dense in caffeine than coffee beans (3-4% vs 1-2%). It’s not just called “caffeine” because it contains a couple other things: theobromine and theophylline. They’re found in coffees and teas, and are known stimulants. Marketing retards will sometimes call this one guaranine, as if it’s something different. It’s not.

B Vitamins: These are essentially the things that help you convert crap to energy. Crap like sugar, which is found in abundance in energy drinks. The jury’s still out on whether or not they increase energy levels via supplementation, but they will sure help warding off the hangovers when you mix that energy drink with alcohol. Search the interweb for info on proper dosing of the different vitamins.

Ginseng: Ginseng, an adaptogenic herb, is known to increase energy, has some anti-fatigue components, and supposedly relieves stress. Right now it’s suspected that gingseng helps stimulate the hypothalamic and pituitary glands, which then secrete something called adrenal corticotropic hormone. With a name like that, it can’t possibly be bad. Ginseng is nothing that’s naturally created by your body, so having this in your drink certainly won’t hurt. 200mg/day seems to be the standard dose, but you can safely take up to 2700mg.

Ginkgo Biloba: It’s suspected that ginkgo biloba is the longest-living organism on this planet. Using the theory that you get something’s (or someone’s) powers by eating the brains, eating the oldest thing on the planet is probably a good thing. Or maybe it’s such a hardy mofo that it’ll kill you instantly. But that’s never been the case. It helps memory rentention, concentration, circulation, acts as an anti-depressant, and even shows signs of helping people with Alzheimer’s. The German government recognizes it as something that helps with memory loss, concentration, and depression. That’s some kick-ass stuff right there. 60mg is a standard supplementation dose, and you can easily take 240mg. If you don’t get this with your drinks, I’d highly recommend supplementing your diet with it.

L-Carnitine: An amino acid usually created by your liver and kidneys, this stuff helps up your metabolism and energy levels. Because of the way it interacts with your body, it may act as a thermogenic and help increase weight loss and endurance during exercise. The jury’s still out on whether or not you need to supplement unless you have an unusual diet, but you can take 2-6 grams without worry. Make sure you get L-Carnitine, which is the type your body creates and can use. D-Carnitine is “inactive” and may actually hurt endurance levels. Some people take this to support their heart, so putting it in an energy drink that increases your heart rate… good stuff

Sugars: Glucose is the body’s preferred fuel. That’s why you get hyper with a lot of sugar. Energy drinks contain a ton of sugar. Therefore, energy. It’s a carbohydrate, and a lot of exercise regiments suggest a good dose of sugar for workouts lasting more than an hour. A lot of athletes take it in the form of rice or noodles, so they have timed absorbtion. You can take a bunch of this easily… 150 grams in your system might get you wired, but probably won’t hurt you.

Antioxidants: Antioxidants are things that help your body gracefully recover from the damage of free radicals. Vitamin C is an antioxidant, so claiming that your energy drink has a lot of antioxidants is like saying you’re buying really expensive orange juice. But they’re good, they help fend off illness and prevent cellular damage. Vitamins C and E, Vitamin A (aka retinol, beta-carotene), and selenium are all antioxidants.

[Merika]

You should do a news article for this for the front page. It's a topic alot of people are talking about.

That was interesting reading. Like you said...some people can handle that amount of a boost to their ego and some can't. Before I got sick, I lived on a variation of anything to boost me along. Now, I'm afraid if I get too fast of a heart beat...I may not be able to catch my breath.

Also...some people just can't handle it emotionally. They can take any kind of speed and just turn into a maniac.

[Weiser]

If I could afford it, I would just drink redbull and vodka while at the bars. The feeling you get when you drink alot of it is just awesome. You feel like you are king of the world, even a god you just feel that good. Plus you never get hangovers. Alas, it's so expensive that I can't do it anymore without dropping $200 a night - which I really can't do anymore.

News article huh? Hmm

[Merika]

Geez...how expensive is Redbull in Canada??? It's only $3.00 in the store for a can....so maybe double that in a bar.

I could see where that would work though. It's much why I drink coffee while I drink beer. I feel better and rarely get a hangover.

[Weiser]

Have you tried the Budweiser energy beer? I haven't, but I heard it's great.

Redbull is 2.99 in stores. Redbull and vodka ranges from $6-8 at the bar. Plus tip, $7-9.

[Merika]

Originally Posted by Weiser

Have you tried the Budweiser energy beer? I haven't, but I heard it's great.

Redbull is 2.99 in stores. Redbull and vodka ranges from $6-8 at the bar. Plus tip, $7-9.

I bought some stuff called Energy Fizz awhile back. It comes in plastic vials and you mix it with water. It tastes like crap, so I never mixed but one, but if you could take that in a bar (it was only $9 for the whole box)...you could mix your own. (I think I bought it at WalMart).

Energy drinks aren't good for me because I already drink so much coffee per day.